Kazakh president discusses development issues of Astana's "green belt"

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev held a meeting during which the prospects for creation of a "green zone" around the capital were discussed, the press service of the head of state said on July 1.

Nazarbayev noted that the total area of the forest plantations for the period from 1997 to 2013 totalled 70,000 hectares, about 15,000 of which are in within the city.

"The afforestation on over 3600 hectares of land is planted alongside the "Astana - Shchuchinsk" highway. I have instructed that all lands once occupied but unused were taken for planting trees there. Our task is to ensure the establishment of green land in the city and surrounding areas, as well as their preservation," the president said.

The Kazakh president was also informed about the prospects of the "green zone" concept in the first phase in which it is planned to increase the planted area up to 100,000 hectares by 2020. During the second phase, the green plantings will be compressed to make space for more plantings among the existing ones.

Furthermore, the Kazakh president was informed on the work to increase the total forest plantations area, the formation within preparation for the"Expo-2017" exhibition of recreational areas, as well as the creation of green spaces along the Astana-Shchuchinsk route around Vyacheslav reservoir and "Karabidaiyk " wastewater storage.